Registered Nurses Too Often Fail as a Last Line of Defense Against Medication Errors

The results of a recently published study emphasize the crucial role that registered nurses (RNs) play in maintaining accuracy in dispensing medications to patients receiving inpatient services at a hospital. The recently performed study discusses the most common medications that are subject to error, as well as the rates of harm to patients that occur as a result of errors made by RNs. Costly errors appear to encourage doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, and the medical industry as a whole to issue guidelines in the hope of preventing errors. However, whatever harm these errors cause to the medical professionals who make them, the harm caused to innocent patients is significantly worse.

The Study Confirms the High Rates of Inpatient Errors Committed by RNs

An article in an industry news source (login required) discusses the recent study mentioned above. The study found that the majority of medication errors occurred in the medical-surgical units of the hospitals where they were conducted, followed by the intensive care units and intermediate care units.

Anticoagulant drugs were the most common type of medication to be associated with a medication error, and 10% of the total errors ultimately resulted in harm to a patient. Although 10% sounds like a low number, that still adds up to hundreds of thousands of patients each year who receive some type of medication error and thousands who suffer harm as a result.

The study noted that the antibiotic vancomycin and insulin were also involved in a significant portion of the errors. Of the errors that caused harm to the patient, errors involving insulin were the most prevalent. Cardiovascular drugs were among those commonly involved in errors because of the complex dosing and frequent monitoring requirements associated with their use.

Nurses, doctors, and pharmacists all owe a duty to their patients to provide an acceptable level of care. While some mistakes cannot be avoided, many can. When a medical professional makes an avoidable mistake that harms a patient, that professional may be liable for the injuries caused by their negligence. To learn more about pharmacy error claims, contact a dedicated personal injury attorney.

Are You a Victim of a Pharmacy Error or Prescription Mistake?

If you or a loved one is a victim of a pharmacy error or a prescription medication mistake, you may be entitled to damages through a Maryland pharmacy error claim. The skilled and experienced Maryland pharmacy error attorneys at Lebowitz & Mzhen, LLC can help you make your claim for relief in an expedient and effective manner. Our experienced Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. medical malpractice and pharmacy error attorneys can turn a pharmacist’s mistake into financial compensation for our clients. At Lebowitz & Mzhen, we accept cases in Maryland, Northern Virginia, and the entire Washington, D.C. area in pharmacy error and other medical malpractice claims. Call us toll-free at 1-800-654-1949 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation today.

Disclaimer: While all of the cases identified in the Lebowitz & Mzhen, LLC website under Our Successes are cases that Lebowitz & Mzhen, LLC has handled for its clients, Lebowitz & Mzhen, LLC does not represent any of the clients in cases mentioned in our blog. Our law firm is reporting on current events that will likely be of interest to our readers. The content provided is not intended as legal advice.

Our past results are not a guarantee of future results, and they should not be used to predict an outcome in any future case or matter. The merits of each case must be determined based upon the facts and the applicable law of each particular case. Lebowitz & Mzhen, LLC is a law firm with lawyers licensed to practice law in the State of Maryland, and a lawyer licensed to practice law in Washington, D.C.